See It!

Rating: Null/10 (28 July 2003)

Horror and sci-fi films so often seem pre-programmed: you have the heroine, whose friends slowly but surely die off one by one as a result of some mysterious killer or entity. She has to discover who or what it is, and after she does, she manages to destroy it. Is anyone else sick of this formula?
Thank God for "28 Days Later...," a fantastic film that not only delivers a scare or two, but is thoughtful, well-acted, perfectly writtern, and unpredictabl, breaking the standard formula without losing its impact.
(Spoilers here) The film begins with a dramatic bang as several animal rights activists attempt to release caged chimpanzees. What they are told by a panacked biologist is that the animals are infected with a very contagious virus called rage. One bite from an animal and you will become infected in 10-20 seconds, metamorphisizeing into a blood-hungry zombie. Needless to say, the activists do not listen and set the animals and the virus loose. After this stage-setting scene, we are taken 28 days later into the future. London is a wasteland to which a young man, Jim, awakes. He was in a coma during the devistation and merely witnesses the bleak aftermath. Fortunately, he meets several other survivors, and after many trials and tribulations, including run-ins with "the infected," Jim and company make it to a militarized zone. But the film doesn't end there. In the end, un-infected, fellow humans are nearly as dangerous to Jim and his friends' well-being. This is the twist I like, since it seems most realistic given the circumstances. But I'll let you savor these secrets when you see the film.
Still, you can't fully appreciate the film from a brief synopsis, because the plot isolated seems rather trite. But the way the writer and director treat the material makes "28 Days Later..." a bit of an anomaly. First, the dialogue is very lean, illiminating the useless lines that you would typically expect in a film of this subject matter. Next, the cinematography is outstanding. Rather than completely grossing us out with painful zoom-ins and still shots, the director chooses a rapid fire means of photographing the infected. Instead of seeing their every detail, we see their fast, jolting movements, which are excentuated by flashes of light. It's that old Hitchcock philosophy of less is more, and it works well for O'Boyle. Finally, there are clear themes in this film which set it apart from it's lesser peers. Themes of survival, companionship, loyalty, and hope, that manifest themselves well in the film.
In the end, you come away from "28 Days Later..." with a clear sense of the film's purpose and meaning and the realization that you've just been through a wild ride. It is a unique film experience that many will appreciate--not just horror buffs and O'Boyle fans.
Rating: 8 out of 10